swfs

It is difficult to think of how much worse off we would be in the current financial crisis without SWFs.

It is difficult in this case to pin down how much is too much because many SWFs do not publish accounts.

Simon has been talking to SWFs such as the Qatar Investment Authority about contributing to its bid, people familiar with the matter said.

SWFs should not own more than 20 per cent of any company in the US or Europe, without a decision of the host government to go higher.

The opacity of SWFs has been a key focus of western critics, who fear politically driven investment decisions by largely autocratic states.

Back in 2007, there was also considerable skepticismregarding the ability of the CIC, and SWFs more generally, to manage money effectively.

In business terms, working with SWFs may be attractive in terms of scale but the fees can be correspondingly low.

The fund said its returns had been better than most other SWFs, pension funds or university endowments.

Involving international firms in the management of the assets of its SWFs will have the added benefit of easing some of the tension.

Some SWFs have been able to push through separate accounts, individualised pools of capital with more favourable terms than the main fund.

For those disposed to be concerned about the impact on their national economies of global flows of capital, SWFs are the new bogeymen.

To alienate the managers of these SWFs could have severe consequences if they and their owners seek friendlier alternatives outside the US.

The agenda for dealing with SWFs must take account of disturbing trends in the global marketplace.

Middle Eastern SWFs are often funded by oil revenue; in Asia, foreign exchange is providing much of the growth.

So it should be no surprise that Asia SWFs wish to purchase European equities with some of the proceeds.

It frequently advises fund managers on the strategies the SWFs are interested in and how they can get a piece of the action.

So far, investments by SWFs have produced ambivalence in recipient nations.

Washington has asked the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to establish a code of good practice for SWFs.

One manager says that if SWFs even suggest they are interested in an asset class, the market will price in their intentions.

The underlying premise must be that SWFs are political entities and should be treated as such.

A corollary of the emergence of SWFs is less demand for the conservative allocation of dollars and short-dated Treasuries.

Let's assume the SWFs come in at the very end of a long equity cycle.

Many frontier economies that are planning to establish SWFs are fighting poor rankings in corporate governance indices.

China will continue to follow the generally accepted principles and practices of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs).

Commodity-country SWFs in effect swap equity in natural resource endowments for foreign assets, financed by profits of state-owned firms.

Thus SWFs must continue diversifying from debt to equity to boost return, though safety remains paramount given the political stakes.

Above all, SWFs will continue to convert US public debt into global equity, helping to restore stability and finance investment and growth.

Huge oil price rises and continued growing trade surpluses in Asia meant SWFs and central banks accounted for most of the growth.

This led the International Monetary Fund to develop "best practices" for SWFs to improve their transparency and governance.

He figures SWFs will do "more good than bad" in an increasingly globalized world economy.

SWFs from China and Russia in particular have faced suspicions and experienced difficulty breaking into some markets.

In sum, western governments should quickly allow, if not promote, Asian SWFs to invest passively in their equities.

Figures from Dealogic put the value of cross-border equity investments by SWFs so far this year at $21. 1 billion.

Managers who have worked with the SWFs expect the CIC and NSSF will continue on a trend of gradual diversification.

"There is a lack of uniformity in how countries deal with SWFs under their foreign investment regimes, " the person said.

One thing is for sure: it will become more difficult to deal with SWFs once they become an entrenched feature of the world economy.

But as SWFs get more confident, foreign investments are likely to remain vital.

This is not a threat but simply the SWFs following their own self-interest in search of the most hospitable investment environment.

But nor should we pretend that SWFs are solely or even principally instruments of foreign policy.

SWFs are investment vehicles controlled by governments.

Investment by SWFs could also have broader foreign policy implications.

SWFs are then loaded into this stage container with their root instances and played as a child of stage.

This hostility is dangerous because we are reaching a stage in the global economy where, as CIC says, SWFs have other options.

As a generality, SWFs do have a longer investment horizon than most institutional investors and hedge funds.

SWFs benefit developing and developed countries alike.

despite this year's rally, they are still below the levels when SWFs invested, typically using convertible stock.

The capital infusions from SWFs have enabled them to strengthen their balance sheets.

Western companies should embrace and reward the SWFs' interest.

Simplyput, 2007 was a difficult year for SWFs in general, and many viewed the CIC asthe poster child of what went wrong.

The SWFs are becoming much more selective in the deals they choose, however.

The rise of SWFs has irrevocably changed the global economic landscape.

Singapore's two SWFs are among the 10 largest and are jointly worth almost $500bn.

SWFs endured limited scrutiny in the last half-century because they came from small countries under US military protection.

SWFs are part of both the problem and the solution to today's financial crisis.

SWFs play an important role in directing these surpluses to areas where they are most productively used.

SWFs are the flip side of global trade imbalances.

SWFs also face political constraints at home.

And the US and other well-to-do nations are pushing for the IMF to develop a system of "best practices" for SWFs.

I refer to the sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), already much commented on in these and other pages.

"Asset managers are surfing the wave of the SWFs. "

In addition, SWFs do need to demonstrate, over time, more transparency and reciprocal investing privileges.

The natural reaction is that they sign up and ignore it, but there is a change going on with the SWFs towards more transparency.

Training is especially important to newer SWFs, says Mr Surrency.

The doings of SWFs have now become the stuff of daily news.

SWFs, such as CIC and those from Gulf nations, have been pivotal in recapitalising global banks.

We estimate SWFs manage $2, 200bn in global assets compared with the $5, 300bn of global foreign exchange reserves.

The second part is on international legislation of SWFs and SWF-related legal system of the members of IWG.

A lot of the worry about SWFs is over-blown.

Some estimate SWFs control assets well in excess of $3, 000bn.

This is the de facto standard library for embedding SWFs.

Globally, SWFs hold about $3, 510bn of assets, according to Preqin, a research group.

What is more, the most important political implications of investment by SWFs are positive.

Indeed, more SWFs have said market conditions are still not yet right for them.

Some SWFs are already investing in infrastructure in developing countries.